Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

ENROLLED ORIGINAL

                                    A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

                                                  25-208

                        IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

                                               April 2, 2024

To officially declare May 1st, 2024, as D.C. Statehood Day in the District of Columbia.

        WHEREAS, the District of Columbia’s over 700,000 citizens pay more in federal income taxes

per capita than any other state and more in total federal income taxes than 22 states;

        WHEREAS, the dollar amount of federal taxes paid by the residents of the District of Columbia

currently stands at $1,402,519,271;

         WHEREAS, the United States Constitution as ratified in 1788 provided the right to vote for

representation in Congress to the “People of the several States” of the United States, which included

citizens living on the land that would later be designated by the federal government for the nation’s

capital as ceded by Maryland and Virginia to become the District of Columbia;

        WHEREAS, despite the provision of the right to vote in the Constitution, through the enactment

of the “District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801”, D.C. residents were disenfranchised from voting for

representative Members of Congress more than 200 years ago;

      WHEREAS, the District of Columbia has more residents that the States of Vermont and

Wyoming, and almost as many as Alaska and North Dakota;

        WHEREAS, the citizens of the District of Columbia continue to express their determination to

achieve full representation by electing 2 United States Senators and a United States Representative to

advocate for statehood and full democracy;

        WHEREAS, citizens of the District of Columbia bear all of the responsibilities of citizenship,

including fighting in wars and serving in the military, paying federal income taxes, and serving on federal

juries;

        WHEREAS, no other democratic nation denies basic rights of self-government, including

participation in the national legislature, to residents of its capital;

       WHEREAS, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has released statements expressing

concern over this denial of representation to citizens in D.C.;

        WHEREAS, the Organization of American States (OAS), to which the United States is a

signatory, has described the disenfranchisement of D.C. residents as a violation of its charter agreement;

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        WHEREAS, Congress often interferes in legislation passed by D.C.’s locally elected officials by

enacting spending restrictions on D.C. revenue, violating the fundamental principle that states and local

governments are best-suited to follow the will of their citizens;

        WHEREAS, in spite of nearly 3 decades of balanced budgets, D.C. faces the possibility each year

of being shut down because of congressional interference, threatening both D.C. and national security;

        WHEREAS, it has been more than 60 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and more

than 50 years since the District of Columbia was granted home rule, and the residents of the District of

Columbia have yet receive the same rights as the residents of the 50 states.

       RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution

may be cited as the “D.C. Statehood Day Recognition Resolution of 2024.”

        Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia hereby declares May 1st, 2024 to be D.C.

Statehood Day and encourages leaders and residents to discuss statehood for the District of Columbia in

high-profile settings in an effort to educate Americans regarding the lack of congressional voting

representation and budget autonomy for the residents of the District.

        Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.

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